Cartridge-feeder for machine-guns



(No Model.) 2 Sheets+Sheet 1. L. F. BRUCE.

CARTRIDGE FEEDER FOR MACHINE GUNS. No. 843,632.

Patented June 8, 1886.

/- is m v WITNESSES '(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. L. F. BRUCE.

GARTRIDGE FEEDER FOR MACHINE GUNS.

Tented June 8, 1886. "is"? Z 'INVENTOIR 14/ ATTO'RN Y WUNESSES PATENTFFIcE.

LUCIEN F. BRUCE, CF SPRINGFIELD,

MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO THE GATLING GUN COMPANY, OF HARTFORD,CONNECTICUT.

CARTRIDGE-FEEDER FOR MACHINE-GUNS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 343,532, dated June 8,1886. Application filed September 7, 1885. Serial No. 176,309. (Nomodel.)

ToaZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, LUOIEN F. BRUCE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Springfield, in the county of Hampden and State ofMassachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements inCartridge-Feeding Devices for MachineGuns, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to improvements in cartridge -feeding devices formachineguns, the object being to provide improved means for so directingthe movement of each cartridge after it leaves the feeder above thehopper that it shall in passing through the latter be so held andgoverned that it invariably reaches the cartridge-carrier, from which itis driven into the barrel, in a line with the bore of the latter, andwhereby the misplacement of a cartridge, owing to the overweight of itsball end, is made impossible.

In the drawings forming part of this specification, Figure 1 is aperspective view of a portion of the rotating cartridge-carrier of amaehinegun and of the hopper of the latter, partly broken away to showthe parts thereunder, said hopper having applied thereto, in closeproximity to the carrier, cartridge feeding and controlling devicesembodying my invention, said figure showing also a vertical groovedcartridge feeder attached to the hopper in the ordinary manner. Fig. 2is a view of a portion of the rear end of the cartridge-carrier and avertical section of the hopper, and a transverse section of the saidcartridge controlling devices, there being shown also in said figure aportion of the ring to which the rear ends of the barrels are attached,and the end of one of the latter. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of saidcartridge-eontrolling devices removed from the hopper.

This invention is in the nature of an improvement on my patent ofSeptember 20, 1881, and the construction and arrangement of the feeddevices in the hopper of the gun, as herein shown, are adapted toobviate the imperfeetions pertaining to the devices of said patent inrespect to their ability to properly govern the movement of thecartridges in the hopper immediately adjoining the surface of 50 thecarrier K. The roller n of said patent is 1 located in the side of thefoot 0 of the cartridge-conductor b, at such a distance above the saidcarrier that the cartridges, after passing the roller n, often turn anddrop bullet down, and occasion great inconvenience; and, furthermore, insaid patent the fluted roller is not hung with its axis under the downcoming line of cartridges, and hence the roller or wheel in thatconstruction cannot so efiicicntly co-operate with the line ofcartridges to govern the movement of each one as does the wheel hereinshown, which in operation occupies the position relative to thecartridges indicated in Fig. 2 by s and the side of the carrier K thereshown.

By means of the within-described improvements each cartridge is made todrop into its proper place and in proper position on the carrier K, ashereinafter fully set forth.

In the drawings, K and E indicate, respect- 7o ively, portions of therotating cartridgecarrier and the hopper of the well-known Gatling gun,in which said parts occupy substantially the positions relatively shownin the drawings. The cartridge-carrier K is hung on a suitable axis, andis rotated in the rear of the barrels of the arm, and has the grooves 8therein to receive the cartridges after the latter have passed throughthe hopper E, from whence they are made to enter the barrels (the end Jof one thereof being shown in Fig. 2) by suitable mechanism. (Notshownin the drawings.) The hopper E is ordinarily hinged over the carrier K,and at g is shown a section of the projection or handle which is graspedto swing the hopper on its hinge. A suitable opening is made in the topof the hopper, constituting the mouth thereof to receive the foot h ofthe cartridge-feeder, as shown in Fig. '1', and at one end of saidopening is an upwardly-projecting lip, d, over which one end of saidfoot passes, and through the latter is a thumbserew, a, act-ing to forcethe shoe 2' against the side of said lip d, and thereby secure said footand its attached feeder rigidly to the mouth of the hopper. The saidcartridgefeeder consists of the single grooved guide or conductor 0,communicating with the foot h, and having in each of its side walls agroove, 0, in which two grooves the flanges of the cartridge-heads I00pable' of being swung over the upper end of the groove in said conductor0. The lower ends of the walls f of the conductor Dare slotted, asshown, to engage with the switchplates 2 z, located on opposite sides ofthe groove in conductor 0. The edges of said plates z are inclinedtoward said groove.

The conductor D is adapted to receive at once a certain number ofcartridges from a box, in which they are packed with their heads orflanges outward, by engaging the latter with the grooves 0 in the wallsf and partition 6, and then drawing the box away from the cartridges.Thus such of the latter as are in the groove of the conductor D, thatcommunicates with the conductor 0 will at once drop into the latter, andfrom thence will move into the hopper E, and immediately that saidgroove in conductor D is emptied the weight of the cartridges in thesecond groove thereof (the cartridges resting on the inclined edge ofthe plate 2) will cause said conductor to swing and bring the cartridgesin said second groove over the end of conductor c, letting them dropinto the latter, and so, as often as the two grooves of the conductor Dare supplied with cartridges, each groove will be emptied into conductor0, one after the other, as above described.

The construction of each of the grooves of conductor D is substantiallythat of the groove in conductor 0 in respect to the grooves 0, wherebythe heads of the cartridges are engaged, as above described.

The above-mentioned cartridge-feeder is only one of several deviceswhich may be employed to present the cartridges one by one at the mouthof the hopper E, controlled by the improved mechanism hereinafterdescribed, to the carrier K, said mechanism being adapted to operate inconnection with any feeder which is capable of presenting the cartridgesto the hopper of the gun substantially in the manner above described.

The above-mentioned cartridge-governing devices,which operate within thehopper near the carrier K, consist of a wheel, I), having in its surfacea series of recesses or longitudinal grooves for the reception ofcartridges whose axis is substantially under the line of cartridgeswhich enter the hopper from above,

said wheel being located in a suitable curved or circular chamber in thehopper between its mouth and the cartridge-carrier K and betweeninclined tables located at either end of the wheel.

For convenience in constructing and applying said parts to the hopper, awheel-case, v, is provided, which is secured in the hopper E under themouth thereof, over which the cartridge-feeder is secured, and from oneof the inner sides of said wheel-case there project two inclined tables,w w, the face of one of which is plain, and at the end of the otherthere is an offset, u, as clearly shown in Figs. 1 and, 3, and the wheelI) is hung to rotate freely between said inclined tables, the shaft w ofthe wheel having suitable bearings in the case 1). The space between thebase of the grooves on wheel b and the adjoining curved inner wall, 10,of the wheel-case is sufficient to permit a cartridge to pass freelytherebetween, as shown in Fig. 2. The edges of the wings of wheel I)rotate as close to the projecting parts of the carrier K at the side ofthe grooves 8 as possible and clear the same, in order that the wing ofthe wheel may follow the cartridge until the latter is lodged onthe'carrier.

The operation of the said hopper-inclosed devices in passing thecartridges from the cartridge-feeder to the carrier K is as follows: Thecircles s to s, inclusive, Fig. 2, indicate substantially the positionsof such of the cartridges which have come from the feeder above as arepassing and about to pass throughthe hopper, the latter, 8 indicating acartridge already lodged on the carrier K. In practice, however, thecartridges 8, s and 8 would lie one against the other. The interior ofcase n is slightly longer than the cartridge with which it operates, andthe diameter of wheel b is proportioned somewhat to the distance betweenthe grooves 8 on the carrier K, so that while the latter is beingrotated to carry the cartridge 8 from under wheel b the cartridge 3 willby the action of said wheel, combined with the wall 10 of the case 0, bedropped into the succeeding groove. Each cartridge as it enters thehopper drops onto the tables to w, the projecting flange of the headthereof resting on the lower incline, n, and from said inclines thecartridge slides or rolls against one of the wings of wheel 12, rotatingthe latter, but being held in a line with the axis of the wheel afterleaving the said tables, (see s,) which axis is in aline with thegrooves 8in the carrier K. Said cartridge then passes between the wall10 and the wheel, and emerging from between the two is dropped into oneof the grooves 8 so directly and quickly that it cannot become displacedbetween the hopper and carrier. If the rotation of the carrier bestopped for a moment,th'e weight of the cartridges above the wheelcauses the latter to turn until one wing strikes the cartridge under itin the carrier, when it ceases to turn until the carrier again starts.

From the above description it is seen that the wing of the wheel withwhich the cartridge comes in contact as it leaves the inclined tablesmoves with the cartridge until the latter is dropped onto the carrier,and thereby,from

the time the cartridge encounters the wheel 1) until it is in the placeon the carrier from whence it is driven into the barrel to be fired, itis held in a true horizontal position by the wheel, or one in a linewith said groove in the carrier.

The wheel I) may be made in one piece, as shown, or it may consist oftwo or more thin transverse sections of such a wheel secured on asuitable shaft.

It is obvious that the wheel-case v, as a separate piece, may bedispensed with, if desired, and the chamber therein to receive the wheeland having the inclined tables thereon be made in the hopper itself; butitis more convenient to make said case separate and insertit in theunder side of the hopper.

That I claim as my.invention is 1. The hopper of a machine-gun having amouth to receive cartridges from a feeder located above the latter, apassage leading from the mouth through the hopper, said passage havingan incline on which the cartridges bear before reaching thecartridge-receiving wheel, combined with the cartridge-receiving wheelpivoted in said passage in the path of movement of the cartridges towardthe carrier, and having a free rotary movement in said passage derivedfrom the movement of the cartridges against said wheel, substantially asset forth.

2. Cartridge-controlling mechanism for machine-guns, consisting of thehopper E, located over the cartridge-carrier K of the gun, having apassage therein through which cartridges pass to the carrier, and havingin said passage a wheel-chamber in proximity to said carrier, saidchamber having on one side thereof the curved wall 10, and havingopposite the latter and extending toward the same the inclined tables 10w, on which the cartridges fall on entering the hopper, acartridgereceiving Wheel having grooves in its surface for the receptionof cartridges, pivoted between the said inclined tables and having afree rotary motion therebetween derived solely from the gravity movementof the cartridges thereagainst, combined and operating substantially asset forth.

3. The hopper of a machinegun having formed therein a wheel-chamber,substantially as described, between the mouth of the hopper and thecartridge-carrier of the gun, said chamber having on one side the curvedwall 10, and having opposite the latter and extending toward the samethe inclined tables w w, on which the cartridges fall on entering thehopper, a cartridge receiving wheel having grooves in its surface forthe reception of cartridges, pivoted between said inclined tables andhaving a free rotary motion therebetween derived solely from the gravitymovement of the cartridges thereagainst, and a cartridgefeeder,substantially as described, secured over the mouth of the said hopper,to hold cartridges while they move downward therein into the latter bygravitation and onto said inclined tables and said wheel, combined andoperating substantially as set forth.

4. The cartridge-carrier of a machine-gun having a rotary motion in therear'of the barrels thereof, and having grooves in its periphery toreceive cartridges, the hopper above said carrier, a wheel chamber, onewall of which forms a guide curving away from a perpendicular throughthe pivot of the wheel, and the cartridge-receiving wheel, whose axis issubstantially parallel with the grooves, said wheel pivoted in saidchamber nearly under the column of cartridges in the hopper and having afree rotary motion derived from the cartridges, all combined andoperating substantially as stated.

LUOIEN F. BRUCE.

\Vitnesses:

H. A. GHAPIN, WM. H. CHAPIN.

